Latest news with #Prop
Axios
5 days ago
- Politics
- Axios
Judge tosses lawsuit over Chandler mayor's eligibility
A judge dismissed a lawsuit arguing that Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke is ineligible to hold office due to disputed language about term limits in the city charter. State of play: Questions emerged in May over whether Chandler's city charter permits people to serve two consecutive four-year terms as City Council members and then another two as mayor, or if they're limited to eight total years for either office. Hartke and former Mayors Boyd Dunn and Jay Tibshraeny served two terms on council before their two mayoral terms. Driving the news: Maricopa County Superior Court Judge David McDowell in late July dismissed a lawsuit filed by Ruth Jones, who ran against Hartke in 2022, seeking to have him removed from office. The judge ruled the suit was a challenge to Hartke's qualifications for office, which, under state law, must be filed within 10 days of submitting nomination papers. The judge added that lawsuits under a different statute challenging the eligibility of winning candidates must be filed within five days of an election's certification. What's next: Voters will have a chance to settle the term limits question before next year's Chandler election. The City Council referred Proposition 410 to the November ballot, which would amend the city charter to clarify that people can serve a total of 16 consecutive years — two terms as a councilmember and two as mayor. Anyone who serves 16 consecutive years wouldn't be eligible to hold office again until at least four years after the end of their last term. Prop. 410 will be on a special election ballot with several other measures. What she's saying: Jones told Axios the ruling was an "unfortunate result" and said her lawsuit wasn't an election challenge. "I neither seek to challenge that election or become mayor," she said, adding she hasn't decided whether to appeal. The other side: "I'm glad to get it behind," Hartke told Axios. The intrigue: The special election could clarify the eligibility of at least one mayoral hopeful — two-term City Councilmember Matt Orlando, who is running for Chandler's top office. If voters approve the charter language, it would head off a potential lawsuit challenging his eligibility. But if the measure fails, it could leave Orlando's candidacy at the mercy of the courts. He told Axios he's confident voters will approve the change.
Axios
04-08-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Seattle to vote on renewing Democracy Voucher Program
The future of Seattle's Democracy Voucher Program is on Tuesday's ballot, as voters decide whether to renew the public campaign financing system for 10 more years. The big picture: Supporters of Seattle's first-in-the-nation voucher program say it allows more people to participate in politics, while opponents argue that too few people use the system to justify its cost. How it works: Seattle residents get four $25 vouchers each election cycle, which they can donate to candidates who opt to participate in the program. Most Seattle candidates this year are accepting the vouchers, which come with fundraising and spending limits. A citywide property tax has raised $3 million annually to pay for the program over the past decade, costing the average Seattle property owner about $8 per year, per city estimates. The latest: If approved Tuesday, Proposition 1 will increase the tax slightly, generating $4.5 million yearly, or $45 million over 10 years. The owner of an $864,000 home — the median assessed value in Seattle this year — would pay $13 a year, about $5 more than under the existing levy. What they're saying: Program supporters say it has broadened the city's pool of political donors and encouraged more people to run for office by reducing financial barriers. "Today, campaign donors better reflect the diversity of our city, by income, race, age, and neighborhood," King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda said in a video voter guide statement supporting Prop. 1. The other side: Less than 5% of Seattleites used their vouchers in 2023, which opponent Ari Hoffman, a local talk radio host, says reflects a lack of interest in the program. "Seattle is one of the most expensive cities in America, and yet our city government is forcing you to pay a special tax just to fund political campaigns," Hoffman said in the video voter guide.
Chicago Tribune
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Scott Vehill, artistic force behind Prop Thtr, dies at 68
Scott Vehill was the co-founder and longtime artistic director of Chicago's Prop Thtr, a scrappy, experimental theater company that throughout its 44-year history has staged intense, intellectually challenging plays, often on shoestring budgets, and put an emphasis on new work. 'Scott made a lot of things happen,' said Stefan Brun, Prop's co-founder with Vehill in 1980 and the group's executive director. 'He was the vision guy, and somebody else would follow up. He had vision, he really cared about the people, and … he loved the stories.' Vehill, 68, died of complications from Parkinson's disease on June 5 at his Lincoln Park home, said his wife of 30 years, Kristen. Born in Detroit, Vehill grew up in the Southwest Side's Marquette Park neighborhood and later in north suburban Wildwood. After graduating from Warren Township High School in Gurnee, Vehill attended downstate Monmouth College before transferring to Columbia College Chicago. After producing student theater together at Columbia, Vehill and Brun founded Prop in a space that formerly housed a strip joint on an off-the-beaten-track stretch of North Lincoln Avenue. With a program of nontraditional performance, European and Beat Generation theater, Prop had to fight to survive and attract audiences, Brun said. 'We started it together, but he is the one who held it,' Brun said. 'Many other people came through, including (onetime managing director) Jonathan Lavan and (onetime artistic director) Olivia Lilley, but Scott was Prop. There was no ruling aesthetic — the show we were currently doing was who we were.' Vehill kept the theater company moving forward after Brun left Chicago in 1987 for Germany. Although his title was artistic director, he was a jack-of-all-trades, directing performances, co-authoring plays and, as Tribune theater critic Chris Jones wrote in 2000, finding ways 'to pay utility bills, keep the doors open at a variety of rented spaces and produce … forms of esoteric theater in dark garages with the minimum of financial resources.' Prop put up three to four productions a year. Some pushed the boundaries — a 1986 staging of 'Biker Macbeth,' an adaptation of the Shakespeare play, drew a stinging review from the Tribune — while others, such as the 1988 staging of Vehill's adaptation of William S. Burroughs' novel 'The Last Words of Dutch Schultz,' garnered critical praise. 'Everything about him was bigger than life,' said Charles Pike, a co-star of the Burroughs adaptation. 'Scott embraced chaos. He saw that sometimes things needed to be broken, and he did not hesitate to break them. He had a heart for the outcast, for the underdog. He was a sucker for a good Chicago story. And we both embraced Beat literature and wanted to make sure that future generations saw (Lawrence) Ferlinghetti, (Jack) Kerouac and Burroughs the way he saw them.' Vehill directed plays by Neil Gray Giuntoli, who also co-starred in Prop's staging of 'The Last Words of Dutch Schultz,' and Paul Peditto, who was part of the old Igloo theater group. Vehill collaborated often with Peditto, both at Igloo and also at Chicago's bygone Live Bait Theater, where in 1991, the duo staged 'BUK,' a drama inspired by the life and work of poet Charles Bukowski. Prop's hard-hitting, commercially successful and critically acclaimed 1994 stage adaptation of Nelson Algren's 'Never Come Morning' garnered nine awards at the annual Joseph Jefferson Citation Awards for productions operating without Actors' Equity contracts — still a record for a non-Equity production. Vehill subsequently tried, without success, to raise money to turn the novel into a film. In 1995, Vehill directed Prop's spoof of former President Ronald Reagan's life before politics, in a play titled 'Reagan: Dementia in Absentia — An Unauthorized Tribute.' Two years later, Vehill staged Peditto's '1,001 Afternoons in Chicago,' a play inspired by screenwriter Ben Hecht's daily columns from the early 1920s in the Chicago Daily News. In 2000, Vehill directed a play about countercultural writer Terry Southern. In 2004, he directed 'Struggling Truths,' a fable exploring the origins of Tibet's conflicts with China. 'It's like a Brechtian parable and the audience, who will be literally divided into two sections, must decide which is the truth about Tibet,' Vehill said of 'Struggling Truths.' 'Was it a people's revolution that got rid of a feudal regime or was it an embattled Buddhist theocracy threatened by a totalitarian state? Both sides will try to stir up an audience to back their cause.' In 2006, Vehill oversaw the staging of Prop's biggest hit ever, 'Hizzoner,' a critical and popular success featuring Giuntoli playing Mayor Richard J. Daley. In a 2006 review, Jones called it a 'thoroughly gripping … bio-drama' that was not to be missed 'for students of the old man and the city he maybe hurt and maybe saved.' The production of 'Hizzoner' was in keeping with Jones' 2002 assessment in the Tribune that Prop is a theater company that is 'proudly blue-collar' and 'cheerfully intellectual,' with 'hard-working and mature creative leaders.' In the late 1990s, Vehill helped found the National New Play Network, a consortium of theaters from around the country committed to showcasing new work. Prop became the Chicago hub of the network, whose rolling world premiere program simultaneously brings new productions to partner theaters across the U.S. More than a decade ago, illness caused Vehill to pull back from Prop, his wife said. For the past two years, about 20 or so friends gathered monthly at Vehill's home to bring the homebound Vehill art in the form of songs, readings and even visual artwork, in what were affectionately called 'Scotty Salons,' his wife said. 'Kristen told me that the therapeutic benefit lasted for several days afterward,' said Keith Fort, who chair's Prop's board and organized the salons. 'That's the healing power of art.' In addition to his wife, Vehill is survived by three sisters, Julie 'Gigi' Paddock, Trisha Peck and Jaime Freiler; and a brother, Raoul. A celebration of life will take place from 5 to 11 p.m. on Friday, July 18, at Facility Theatre, 1138 N. California Ave.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Yahoo
Suspect arrested for stealing package from Vallejo business
( — The Vallejo Police Department Patrol Division officers responded to a package theft at a business on Friday. According to VPD, the incident happened on the 1300 block of Lemon Street when the victim reported that a male suspect stole a package that had a value of $190 and fled the scene in a Kia Optima. VPD stated that officers were able to see the surveillance footage, which captured the suspect's face and their license plate. The video showed the suspect pausing for a while before they grabbed the package and drove away. After a while, an alert patrol officer saw the suspect vehicle traveling on Sonoma Boulevard, according to VPD. The officer pulled the vehicle over at a nearby parking lot, where the suspect was identified and arrested. Miranda V. Arizona: The Supreme Court case that made the Miranda Rights After running their background, records showed the suspect being on active probation for burglary, VPD said. The officers then conducted a probation search and found that he had what was suspected to be cocaine. VPD said, 'The day he decided to violate his probation terms was the day he got caught by Vallejo PD.' The suspect had his Miranda rights read and admitted to stealing the package, VPD said. Based on his prior convictions, the theft was charged as a felony under Prop. 36. VPD stated the stolen properties had been collected and entered into evidence, and the suspect was arrested and booked into the Solano County Jail on multiple charges, including felony theft, possession of a controlled substance, possession of burglary tools, and probation violations 'Vallejo PD remains committed to protecting our community and holding repeat offenders accountable,' said VPD. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Anson ISD parents share their thoughts on $17M school bond election
ANSON, Texas () – Over the past few months, signs supporting and opposing a $17 million school bond have appeared in the residential streets of Anson. For example, outside the home of Anson ISD parent Leticia Hernandez, there is a sign that says, 'Vote No on Prop B.' In contrast, the sign in front of the home of Anson ISD parents Jeremiah and Nicole McCurdy encourages voters to support both Propositions A and B. This situation raises the question: What is causing this divide among residents? 'I plan to vote yes for Prop A and no for Prop B…I'm a very firm believer of living within your means,' said Hernandez. 'It's going to benefit so much of our community, so many of our kids. It's just worth it, and we will be voting for A and B,' Nicole said. EXPLAINER: $17 million bond for Anson ISD: What it means for residents Proposition A requests $9.2 million to fund additions to elementary schools, renovations of district facilities, resurfacing of parking lots, and enhancements to the high school's Career Technical Education (CTE) classrooms. 'We're looking to grow our CNA program and hoping to start a cosmetology program, but we need some classrooms,' Anson ISD Superintendent Troy Hinds said. Hernandez and the McCurdys agree that Prop A's expanded educational opportunity and improved facilities will benefit Anson students. Approval of Proposition B would see $7.8 million used for the resurfacing of the track, installing turf on all three athletic fields, and constructing a new field house. It is here that Hernandez and other Anson residents find an issue. 'You put turf on the field, but we still have stands that need attention, and we still have concession stands that need attention. And this work that's been done that's not completely finished yet. That should be addressed before we do something that extravagant,' Hernandez said. She is also concerned about how the increased taxes might impact Ansonians' financial future, saying, 'I have two kids that will be out of school. They'll be investing in our community soon. We own two businesses, my husband and I, and we want to be able to pass that on to them and them to be able to thrive with that,' said Hernandez. On the pro-Prop B side, the McCurdys spoke not only as parents but also as district members: Jeremiah as the Operations Director and Nicole in the district curriculum. 'If you look over the lifespan of the turf fields. It's going to be just about a break-even point on cost, man-hours, watering the fields, maintaining them, and such,' said Jeremiah. 'Athletics is there not just for them to compete in, but for their bodies to be healthy; for their minds to be healthy… I don't want people to think that we, as a district, are not going to spend money on our academics because we do care about academics every single day. But we're also trying to create well-rounded individuals and well-rounded kids, and that involves that CTE portion, that athletic portion, and that academic portion,' Nicole added. Jeremiah concluded their interview with a call to action for all Anson ISD residents, no matter what view they hold, to get out and make their voices heard. Superintendent Hinds stated that the district is excited to see these opportunities brought to Anson Students, whether Prop B passes or not, similarly to Jeremiah, saying he hopes everyone will come out to vote in this election. Early voting is scheduled from Tuesday, April 22, through April 29. Don't forget that Election Day is on May 3. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
